pte

ry'

d my wat

y sketchpad. If he was going to f

ing. "You can do what you want with the

g through the blueprints. Ther

kcase in the library

ith greater drama, but intrigue alr

e. Roman withdrew into his office for hours, while Nathan and Lily,

ed me access to the storage areas and introduced me to the building's strange electrical quirks. It

" Nathan said to me, han

t him. "Ro

d to say it. But yeah. Before his si

g in mid-dr

Car accident. He never talks about it, but after that. everything changed. He sold off mos

sed-off vibe. The lock

freeze a p

"I'm sorry," but

to get through to.

just a difficult client with too much money and a go

pancies. Behind one hallway mirror was a hidden alcove. Behind one dining room panel, an open wall

g point came la

lueprints, when I noticed a space. The blueprint showed a small square s

led. "Do you kn

"That shouldn't be there. That space doesn't exist

take

hrough the wall. Roman

ear locked-off rooms. But there was something about t

ily I had more measuring to do. I waited until the building

ar wing with a flash

mbled, then melted, revealing a door hidden behind fa

and silenc

and a tiny writing desk at most. It was stale but

ayon on yellowed paper. Stick figure girl and man in a sui

rt twi

his room had once been. B

iz

Bury it like an injury t

back, ov

n I heard th

un a

way, face neutral, ey

atly, "not to go into ro

ter hearing about

f the job," the image sketched by the child had lodged in my head like a persistent spli

ds, coffee, and a sense of new caution. Roman had not s

y. I stood there gawking at him for a moment still as stone, back rigid, fists clenched at his sides. For

snarled when I at l

u're not releasing me. S

ed the edge of his

few hours. We walked through floor sample after floor sample, argued

said, his face glum. "It's not a

"So either you want change, or you'd lik

, maybe, or the first stirrings of admirati

ldn't help but linger outsid

overed

g what occurred,

im, not flin

braced himself against it. "T